Chapter 310 No Turning Back
Third Person POV
The darkness that consumed Rachel fed off the fear that Lila was feeling. She tried her best to hide it,
but even Rachel knew that Lilaâs fear was evident. The color had completely drained from her perfect
features and as much as she tried to blink them away, Rachel could see the moisture in her eyes.
She wanted to cry.
âItâs been you this whole timeâ¦â Lila breathed, still trying to wrap her head around the facts.
Rachel didnât have to confirm, Lila already knew the truth. Her intuition was telling her the truth. As
much as Rachel wanted to go to her friend and comfort her, the darkness wouldnât allow her. She was
consumed by it. She felt all sorts of anger and hopelessness. She gave into the darkness long ago;
even before itâs been conjured. She was an easy target for it to take as a vessel. She wasnât surprised.
âPlease say somethingâ¦â Lila whispered. Rachel could hear the desperation in her voice.
âWhat is there for me to say?â Rachel asked, her voice emotionless and dry. It made Lila wince; she
had never heard Rachel sound this way before and she didnât like it.
âI want you to tell me itâs not true⦠that you didnât kill those people. That you didnât kill Scott.â
âI didnât kill Scott,â Rachel quipped. âBut I would have if I could. I only framed him. I made him believe
he was the one who killed those people.â
A stray tear escaped from Lilaâs eye as she stared at Rachel.
âYou were the one who sent him to jailâ¦â Lila said h oar sely. âWhich means you were the one who
killed him.â
Her voice had gone dry and bitter by the end of that sentence. Rachel couldnât argue or deny those
facts, so she remained quiet.
Lila was so wrapped up in her own thoughts, trying to process all thatâs been exposed to her, replaying
this past week in her mind, trying to figure out how she didnât see what was right in front of her. She
didnât even notice the door of the bedroom had opened and Raymond, Rachelâs father, was standing
behind her.
He was staring directly at the back of her head; his eyes trailing down her narrow back and across the
nape of her neck. He held the syringe tightly in his grip as a glimmer of humor spread across his thin
lips.
Rachel hadnât meant to give him this idea, but she did. It was right after he tried to give her the syringe,
hours before the banquet.
âLila is smart, she will be able to see through me a mile away. I wonât be able to stick her with that
thing,â Rachel said, refusing to take the syringe.
This angered Raymond, but he had to agree with his daughter. He furiously paced back and forth,
knowing that both of their lives were at stake.
But then he paused, and a smile snaked his lips. He looked at Rachel who was pale as a ghost and
feeling sick to her stomach.
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Chapter 310 No Turning Back
âThen you wonât be the one to inject her with this,â he said, holding up the syringe. âYou will be the
distractionâ¦.and I will inject her.â
Rachel was brought back to the present moment when Lila let out a small s ob.
âRachel⦠whatever is going on⦠let me help you,â she pleaded..
But Rachel knew there was no helping her right now.
She closed her eyes and looked away. Just as Lila was about to say something else, Raymond
stabbed her as hard as she could in the neck with the syringe.
At first, Lila seemed to be consumed by shock. Her eyes grew large and round as she tried to process
what had just happened. Then a gasp escaped her lips and her eyes flickered to Rachel.
Lila reached up to touch the syringe in her neck and at first, Rachel didnât think the wolfâs bane was
going to work. Maybe she was too strong of a Volana for it to take effect. Even her father began to look
nervous.
Lila opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. And then, her body began to quiver
uncontrollably, and her eyes rolled to the back of her head, shocking Rachel to the core.
Had they killed her?
The darkness was going to be pis sed and probably kill them too. Not that it mattered anymore; Rachel
didnât deserve to live after everything she had done. Her thoughts might be her own, but her actions
and words certainly arenât. Itâs like sheâs standing on the outside, watching herself do these horrific
things and she canât do anything about it.
Lila fell to her knees; her eyes fluttered shut and then she fell to the ground.
Raymond looked relieved and let out a sigh.
âIs she alive?â Rachel asked, her voice sounding unfamiliar and raw,
Raymond bent beside her to feel her pulse on the side of her neck and after a moment, he nodded.
âHer pulse is faint, but sheâs alive.â
Before Rachel could say anything, she was stopped when the voice began to speak.
âYou have done well,â the voice said. It took a minute for Rachel to realize that she was speaking out
loud so Raymond could hear her as well.
Ray tensed and stared at Rachel, confused. But Rachel couldnât speak to explain what was happening.
The darkness wouldnât allow her to speak or move,
âWe will handle the Volana from here,â the voice continued.
Soon, darkness reined in through the cr acks of the window, pooling in like a rapid river. It swirled
around. the floor and filled the room with its dark essence. It felt cold and gave Rachel a chill down her
spine; she would have shivered if she could. But she couldnât move a mussel.
Telling from her father, he couldnât either.
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Chapter 310 No Turning Back
The room was filled with dark smoke, but it didnât smell or feel like smoke. It was just there, lingering
around the room until it grew thicker and darker. Rachel had to strain herself to see what was
happening, but that wasnât good enough. She didnât know what she was seeing. It almost looked like
the darkness was- swallowing Lila.
It didnât take long for the darkness to be covering her completely and Rachel couldnât see her friend at
all.
Then, the darkness swirled around the room a final time before slithering its way to the window once
again. Just as it came in, it used its cr acks to disperse from the room. Rachel looked down at the place
Lila once was, but she was no longer there.
Rachel and her father were left alone, staring at one another in disbelief. Then, her father was bold
enough to speak first.
âWhat about my end of the deal?â Raymond asked, staring at Rachel. He knew the darkness was still
inside of her and whoever was controlling it was listening. âYou promised that Iâd get power once this is
over. I want to use the vessel you create to get that power.â
Rachel let out a lowly laugh, but it wasnât her. It was the voice.
âSilly bear,â she spat. âDid you honestly think I was going to let you walk away with zero repercussions?
You know far too much.â
âWhat?â He seethed. âWe had a deal, witch. I spy on your Volana, and you get me power. I used my
own. flesh and blood to fulfill that task.â
It was like a slap in Rachelâs face; she knew her father wasnât genuine when he wanted to spend time
with her. But part of her was still in denial about it. She wanted to believe that maybe he did care about
her after all and that he was truly sorry for how he treated her.
âAnd you have done well, but I canât possibly allow you to walk around with all the knowledge that you
have,â the voice said, chuckling.
âThen erase them,â he said through his teeth. âYou have the power to do that.â
âI doâ¦â it said simply. âBut my little friends are so very hungry and before they depart from your lovely
daughter, they need to feed.â
âWhat?â Raymond asked, sta ggering backward, âYou are crazy. Why me? Why not kill her?!â
The voice didnât respond at first; Rachel was oddly curious about the answer as well. Why wonât it kill
her? Or maybe it still will. A sickening feeling formed in the pit of her stomach.
âI like her,â the voice finally answered. âShe had done far too much to deserve death. Plus, she doesnât
know much of anything. Nothing that can expose us. As for you⦠well⦠we donât like you as much.
You are a failed spy. You could hardly even get close to her.â
âI was the one who gave her the wolfâs bane, knocking her outâ Ray argued, furiously.
âYou couldnât have done it without Rachel,â the voice hissed. âAlso, didnât you also abuse your daughter
throughout her entire childhood? You took her virtue. You drove her to drugs and alcohol and forced
her into that wretched facility. You are hardly worth a life.â
Rachel was surprised that the voice knew this information, but she supposed itâs been living in her
brain
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Chapter 310 No Turning Back
for weeks, so it made sense that it would know things about her. It sounded like the voice was angry at
Raymond on Rachelâs behalf.
Raymond was shivering, unable to move. She wondered why he wouldnât turn and run; itâs not like the
darkness was inside of him and making him stay still like it was doing to her. The only darkness inside
of Raymond was his own.
âRachel darling, my little friends are hungry, and I need them to be at full strength when they return to
me. They will be leaving you shortly and you will be free of your duties. You have done well and as your
reward, you get to keep your life,â the voice said, only to her this time.
Rachel was relieved, but her heart was so heavy, and her brain was so confused. She had done such.
horrible things; she was never going to recover from this. She knew this; death doesnât seem so bad.
âYou will keep the unbearable truths of what you had done,â the voice confirmed. âIt might in fact be a
punishment worth than death.â
Rachel flinched at those words.
âBut before my friends leave you, we ask that you perform one last task.â
âWhat is it?â Rachel asked in a quivering tone, finally able to speak again.
After a beat of silence, the voice answered, âKill him.â
Downstairs in the living room where the guests mingled and laughed, their conversations ceased to
exist as Raymondâs tormented screams sounded throughout the entire packhouse. At first, nobody
knew what they were listening to but then it was clear that someone upstairs was in grave danger and
crying out for help.
Alpha B astien was the first to jump into action; he was closely followed by Beta Ethan and then Alpha
Jonathan.
Luna Selene wasnât far behind as well, despite knowing she should stay with the others. But her
daughter was upstairs, and he needed to see that she was okay.
Ba stien followed the sounds of the gargled screams and then the screaming stopped. But he knew
exactly where it was coming from. He ran to the room at the end of the long hallway and barged inside.
He paused, frozen to the core, when he saw Rachel kneeling over her fatherâs body, covered head to
toe in his blood.
âIâ¦. Iâ¦. I didnât mean to kill himâ¦â